After a great episode last week, Shadowhunters had big episode boots to fill if they wanted to keep it up and it seems they did rather well again. However, this week’s episode focused a lot more on the emotional side of the series with each character facing difficulties in trying to overcome the situations they found themselves in because of Lilith.
On last week’s episode, the group learned just who was after them after Jace severely injured Clary; we discovered Maia and Jordan Kyle previously dated, which saw a series of flashbacks shared between the two and that it was Jordan who accidentally turned Maia; Simon and Luke found the Church of Talto and luckily, Simon had his mark to save their asses; and lastly, the Shadowhunters manage to trap Jace with the aid of a stolen object from Idris, but Clary is arrested when they find her near Valentine’s grave that Jace had been digging up.
Trouble With The Middle Child
The episode kicks off with Simon and Luke still at the hotel searching for Ollie, but Lilith uses her powers to transport herself, Ollie and Jonathan’s body to another location.
At Magnus’ apartment, Alec, Magnus and Izzy check in on Owl Jace who tries to cause some drama with remarks such as only becoming Alec’s parabatai to always have a roof over his head. Luke and Simon then turn up and Simon is furious that Jace hurt Clary. However, the group of five need to figure out how to help Clary and despite not wanting to abandon Clary, Simon and Luke go back to the hotel to try to figure out where Lilith has gone.
Magnus tells Alec that to get to Jace, they need to use the strongest possible connection which would be their parabatai connection. However, Lilith could wind up taking control of Alec too, except Alec will do whatever it takes. Magnus also wants to send Izzy in even though it will mean less time to find Jace. In order for them to bring out the real Jace, they will need to be linked at the exact time Magnus pulls them out.
Magnus begins the spell so Izzy and Alec can enter Jace’s mind, but he purposely touches the wall of the Malachi Configuration, which causes him to pass out. Izzy retrieves the handcuffs Valentine used to keep Ithuriel prisoner so they can remove the Malachi Configuration to prevent Jace from hurting himself.
Magnus tries again and this time it works because everyone’s eyes roll back in their heads. Izzy and Alec find themselves in a dark Institute within Jace’s mind and they see memories of the three of them training when they were younger, but it seems Jace’s memories are disappearing because of Lilith’s torture.
Izzy ventures off from Alec and finds a young Jace playing the piano and she convinces him to trust her with a song they used to sing when they were little. Meanwhile, Alec finds dozens of a dead Clary surrounding our normal Jace. In tears and scared, the parabatai embrace and the Clary’s disappear just before Izzy finds her brothers.
Gotta Love A Love Triangle
Maia tells Simon that Jordan Kyle is sticking around to help him out, so he joins Maia and Simon on their quest to find Lilith. Naturally things get awkward when Jordan offers his jacket to Maia during their cart trip.
Simon, Maia, and Kyle investigate the hotel and they realise they smell a usual blood scent. They discover the altar and discover the well underneath, which is decorated with Enochian symbols for blood, flesh and heart—all part of a demonic resurrection ritual.
Simon steps out to call Luke about their discovery, so Jordan continues to tell Maia how he has changed and she doesn’t want to hear it because it’s been hard for her to put aside. She begins to shift and Simon rushes in to calm her down, even though he heard the majority of what they were saying. Later on, Maia packs a bag, but Simon turns up and he says he overheard everything Jordan and Maia said. She asks for time, so Simon lets her go.
The Truth Comes Out
Clary remains in Idris and the Clave has Brother Enoch and the Soul-Sword there to compel the truth from her. She reveals that Jace was digging up Valentine and killed Imogen because he’s been possessed by the Queen of Edom. Naturally, the next question is how… She begins to come clean and questioning continues about what happened at Lake Lyn, but Clary manages to rid herself of it and she freely reveals what she did. However, Clary is glad the wish is gone because anything to do that much damage is more of a curse.
Meanwhile, Luke is at the Jade Wolf trying to get through to Jia Penhallow when Maryse turns up. He asks if she can help get through to anyone in the Clave and she suggests the woman who Robert was cheating with. Maryse reveals to Luke that Clary is on trial so Luke devises a plan to get into Idris through the feral Brocelind wolf pack, except Maryse thinks Clary would be sad to lose the only real father she ever had.
In Alicante, Clary is returned to her cell and Jia Penhallow asks if there’s anything else she’d like to say before receiving her sentence. Clary asks Jia to put herself in the same position except with her daughter Aline and consider what she would have done. Jia says being a Shadowhunter is about sacrifice, which Clary doesn’t understand. She sentences Clary to death.
A Trip To The Seelie Realm
Lilith realises something is amiss with Jace and sends some of her followers to find him. She’s still not happy that Simon has the mark, so she goes to see the Seelie Queen. She goes on a killing spree within the Seelie realm and apparently the Mark of Cain is the only thing which can banish her. Lilith goes to kill her, but the Seelie Queen reveals she knows where Owl Jace is.
Back at Magnus’ apartment, Magnus tells Alec to hurry, but Jace is too scared to leave with them. He begs Izzy and Alec to kill him because he can’t risk anything happening to him or anyone else. The trio grab hands just as Lilith walks into Magnus’ apartment, but Lilith won’t do any extreme harm to Magnus as she doesn’t want to start a war with his father. Alec and Izzy wake up to find Jace gone and they’re devastated.
Final Thoughts?
This week’s episode was certainly emotionally packed with each character facing difficulties, whether it be on their own or with their loved ones. It was quite surprising the performance Dominic Sherwood gave as Jace as it truly showed a side of him that we never see, although fans of the books will know that he has always had a softer side to him.
Naturally, many continue to be disappointed by the changes the series makes, however, as a fan of the books, I honestly don’t mind it. It would almost be uninteresting to see something be the same as the books, but with Shadowhunters, you can see almost every aspect of the books somewhere within the show. They’ve always said that it’s their adaptation and they just get from point A to B a little differently, especially in this episode and next week’s preview—such as Maia and Jordan and what looks like Edom.
Shadowhunters returns next week for a 2 hour mid-season finale!
